Have you heard of J-T-Q-E?
It stands for Jewish Teens Questioning Everything, and it’s a new program launching this school year at Temple Anshei Shalom in Delray Beach.
Geared toward students in grades 8 to 12, the classes will take place bimonthly, alternating between in-person and Zoom sessions. With growing antisemitism on college campuses and in classrooms, J-T-Q-E will focus on Judaism and showing kids that being Jewish is something to be celebrated.
Each week, a different topic will be discussed, including:
- Did G-d create humans or did humans create G-d?
- Really, I have to say thanks?
- A dollar bill is Jewish?
- Holocaust: A dying memory
- Superman, Spiderman, Bat Girl are Jewish?”
Students will be encouraged to freely express their points of view, ask questions and engage in debates and open conversations, according to Andy Greenberg, a Temple Anshei Shalom member who created the program as a volunteer. The Lake Worth resident said he has been educating Jewish students for more than 25 years, nine of them in South Florida.
The program has a one-time $18 enrollment fee to cover security costs and does not require participants to be members of Temple Anshei Shalom. However, teens must be residents of Palm Beach County.
Classes are scheduled to begin Sept. 8 with an in-person orientation session and end May 18. The deadline to enroll is Sept. 4.
To sign up, visit templeansheishalom.org or email JTQE@TAS.com.
